Qatar to hold joint military exercises with US, Turkey soon

Qatar's Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Khalid Attiyah, said that the ongoing row between Qatar and other Persian Gulf states did not affect the relations between Doha and Washington, and the countries will conduct joint military exercises soon.

"I personally made a lot of efforts to ensure that Qatar's relations with Washington and Ankara were strong and constantly evolving... I do not think that the US will refuse to cooperate with Qatar in the fight against terrorism," the minister told the RT broadcaster.

"Qatar and the United States are allies and partners in the international anti-terrorist coalition. Our relations are friendly and strong... Qatar, Turkey and the US regularly conduct joint military exercises in Qatar, and the next joint military exercises of the three countries (Qatar, the United States and Turkey) will begin soon," he added.

In mid-June, two US Navy ships took part in joint exercises with the ships of the Qatari Emiri Navy. The exercise plan provided for training firing, launch of missiles, as well as joint actions with Qatari and US air forces, including setting up the supply of ships and evacuating the victims with helicopters.

Turkish troops have also taken part in long-planned joint military exercises in Qatar, following a diplomatic rift between Doha and four other Arab states.

The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has recently described the recent blockade by a Saudi-led group of Arab countries against Qatar as "pre-planned campaign", adding that Doha is ready for dialogue to resolve a diplomatic crisis with Arab states.

Meanwhile, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani had also announced that the small Persian Gulf emirate was willing to hold constructive talks with Arab rivals if they stopped meddling in its home affairs.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar early June, and suspended air and sea communication one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.

EA